This is what happens when you lack transparency. Spurred from a bicycle lane that suddenly appeared on a Northridge street that exasperated the neighbors and commuters, Councilmember Greig Smith earlier this month called for all bicycle projects to be reviewed by Neighborhood Councils. But that wasn't enough for the community. more ›

When your neighborhood kind of blows, the key to putting it on the right track is persistency and not giving up after being stonewalled by the first person you try to get help from. The LA Weekly today publishes a talk with Allan DiCastro, the president of the Mid-City Neighborhood Council, and finds how he has slowly but surely taken his neighborhood to a better place. more ›

A neighborhood council last night may have been the first to take action regarding Arizona. In a unanimous vote, the Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council voted to "oppose the L.A. City Council’s boycott of Arizona." Furthermore, the panel officially opined "that the Mayor and Councilmember’s time is better spent rectifying the problems in Los Angeles rather than meddling in the affairs of another state.” more ›

It's an a relatively unknown event supporting an important grassroots city function that's garnered little attention, but at 2 p.m. today the polls will open to the public in 11 San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. Yes, it's election day for some neighborhood councils. Save for a Daily News editorial by Councilman Paul Krekorian, there hasn't been much buzz about them (but do neighborhood councils ever get that much buzz in the first place?). Neighborhoods involved in today's election are Reseda, Tarzana, Lake Balboa, Encino, Van Nuys, Mid-Town North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Glen, Valley Village, and Toluca Lake. Polls close at 8 p.m. Locations are listed here. more ›

Did you know that West Los Angeles is home to nine consulates? We didn't, but thanks to the latest newsletter from the community's Neighborhood Council, we do now. They say eight national consulates are on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard, between the 405 Freeway and the Santa Monica border: more ›

Most people don't know, but today is election day in the San Fernando Valley for 11 neighborhoods. If you live, work or are otherwise a stakeholder in Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Granada Hills North, Granada Hills South, North Hills West, Northridge East, Northridge West, Porter Ranch, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills, you may be eligible to vote. more ›

In a continuing effort to solve Los Angeles' massive budget deficit, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the consolidation of two city departments, which would save the city $2 million annually with the elimination of 27 positions. The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees neighborhood councils, will be combined with the Community Development Department. more ›

In a move to alleviate a $400 million-plus budget deficit, the Los Angeles City Council earlier this year approved a program allowing 2,400 employees to retire early. However, ERIP (Early Retirement Incentive Program), as it's called around city hall, is going to turn the city into "swiss cheese," according to the city's top Personnel Manager. more ›

Environmental and neighborhood groups are organizing to save Griffith Park from the possibility of development. Last month, Col. Griffith J. Griffith's grandson and the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust put in an application to formally preserve the park by getting it designated as a historic landmark. more ›

As KCRW offers their first key chain fringe benefits cards (whew! we'll finally remember to use it now), one local neighborhood council has gone out and done something similar. The South Robertson Neighborhood Council, an official City of Los Angeles community volunteer advisory board that represents neighborhoods south of Beverly Hills such as Beverlywood and La Cienega Heights (map below to see if you live, work or play there), has launched the SOROCARD that offers cardholders discounts at participating local businesses. more ›

The Hollywood Coalition of Neighborhood Councils is hosting a Town Hall on Thursday night to address "Parking, Planning and Transportation." more ›

Good news regarding last week's LAPD shootout in Glassell Park. The fourth and last suspect, a Northridge resident who was the driver of the suspected car, was arrested Monday in Granada Hills. It wasn't that hard either: "he was in the same vehicle police believe was used in the driveby," according to a report by the Daily News. more ›

The day has finally come. And if you didn't do your homework, you still have some time study. more ›

“Carol Baker Tharp loved the City of Los Angeles and spent the past year working to strengthen its neighborhoods as the General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said today in a statement announcing the passing of Carol Baker Tharp. "Though we mourn her passing today, we take comfort in the fact that her work and ideas will continue to yield positive benefits for the people of Los Angeles.” Tharp was... more ›

Today's Daily News discusses yesterday morning's Congress of Neighborhoods where city's 89 neighborhood councils met in a convention style environment to learn skills such as media relations and working with city departments. Throughout the day, one major focus of chatter surrounded how to "wield their increasing influence." The Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council recently succeeded in a community effort in halting a Home Depot from coming to their neighborhood. The Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council is... more ›

Two explosions ripped through a convoy carrying former Pakistani premier and maybe the country's best hope for Democracy, Benazir Bhutto, following her triumphant return after an eight-year exile. She was not hurt, but hundreds were killed and injured. How did the White House respond? By tying it back to the war on terrah, of course, saying, "Those responsible seek only to foster fear and limit freedom." A dump truck is in a "precarious spot"... more ›

Brady Westwater at the blog, LA Cowboy, asked some fair questions on his blog yesterday about the former head of the city’s transportation department, who was fired last week: “Why Did The Press TOTALLY Fail Us On The Gloria Jeff Disaster?” After some research, he found that “not a word was ever printed about her past” – if that’s true, Gloria Jeff is in the wrong business. Get this woman to a PR firm... more ›

The LA County Board of Supervisors and the City Council are set to vote today on a "Lights Out Los Angeles" proposal, which would encourage all city employees to "voluntarily turn off all non-essential lights between 8 and 9 p.m. on Oct. 20, replace at least one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb and pledge their participation on www.lightsoffla.org." Mirthala Salinas didn't show up to work today at her new gig... more ›

Los Angeles is cleaning up after a wet weekend that drenched the southland and knocked out power to thousands. Want asthma? LAUSD is building seven new schools near freeways, despite scientific studies saying such construction could damage the children's lungs. Huell Howser is here. That's amazing! The city's neighborhood councils could be in for some major changes. Maybe now, you'll actually understand what they are. A Los Angeles man suspected of shooting his pregnant girlfriend... more ›

Since 2004, Chow Bella have been implicated in the deaths of three dogs, been the focus of numerous complaints from community activists and on the wrong end of scorn from those whose pets sustained injuries while staying at Chow Bella. more ›

Yesterday on doorsteps of homes in Studio City came flyers telling people to vote in today's Studio City Neighborhood Council (SCNC) election. Yesterday in the e-mail boxes of many Valley residents was an e-mail telling them to vote tomorrow. If you know anything about Neighborhood Councils... Actually, let's rephrase that. If you don't know anything about Neighborhood Councils and these elections, there is a good reason to that: outreach is hard. So one would think... more ›

It looks like neighborhood councils are back in style with two new hires for General Manager and Assistant General Manager at the city's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). Their first "whirlwind" week on the job has come on the heels of two new neighborhood councils: Panorama City and Rampart (making a total of 89 councils in LA). In their first letters to the public and neighborhood council members, General Manager Carol Baker Tharp shares... more ›

Mayor Sam blogger Councilman John openly questions Neighborhood Councils on their emergency preparedness initiatives. Should they be spending part of their $50,000 annual budget on stock piling materials for a neighborhood? Do they need consistent guidance from the city? Well, here is some guidance: if you do not have 10-gallons of water stored in case of an earthquake, you might be screwed. If you are reading this and going, "nah, I won't be," it's... more ›

Back in November we approved Propositions 1A and 1B, bonds that gave $19.9 billion in transportation funding throughout the state. On Friday, California transportation officials recommended cutting more than $1 billion worth of freeway projects sought for Los Angeles County - including funding for a northbound car-pool lane on the San Diego (405) freeway. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other officials are obviously not pleased and will be asking residents to step it... more ›

“By giving every resident high-speed access, we will transform Los Angeles into a cutting-edge city across every neighborhood and every economic sector,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “LA WiFi will help us meet the technology needs of our world-class media and creative industries, give a leg up to small businesses, plug every neighborhood directly into the knowledge-based global economy, and make computer training programs for students an after-school reality.” The first step of LA WiFi initiative,... more ›

I do not remember who told me this, but he must have been important. We were at a fundraising party all wearing fancy suits and the Mayor Villaraigosa was there. He started talking about the Director of the Bureau of Street Services for the city, Bill Robertson: "There's a thing about Bill you have to know." At this point, the tone of his voice sounded like it was going to turn into an angry ranting session, but maybe it was the amount of wine he was drinking that misled my thoughts. "Bill will not bullshit you -- he's an honest man." more ›

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So back in November we asked the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, who oversees Neighborhood Councils, for a quick 5 question interview... LAist: Okay, so what the heck is a DONE Advocate and what are these Neighborhood Councils all about? DONE: ... LAist: Why should our readers get to know their Neighborhood Council? DONE: ... LAist: What is one step our readers can do right now to participate to help mold the future of Los... more ›

Last Saturday morning, the Board of Public Works invited all neighborhood councils to attend a meeting to kick start the go-happy 1950s Keep America Beautiful program. Los Angeles has been chosen as the kick off location for the national program, the Great American Clean Up, that takes place from March 1 through May 31. Along with a crowd of about 50 folks, bloggers/downtown neighborhood councilmen Eric Richardson from Blog Downtown and Brady Westwater of LA Cowboy were both in attendance. Here are some highlights and thoughts about the upcoming program: more ›

Brrrrrrrrr... did you enjoy cuddling under your blankets last night during that blast of cold weather? Don't forget that it snowed in Los Angeles less than a year ago (and will SCV be so lucky?). Maybe this is Los Angeles' way of saying hello to Beckham with a little frosty cold treat. We're enjoying it. After all, some of us are transplants. Besides the top stories that you probably already know by now, A.M.... more ›